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THE HON. JOHN HAY 

SECRETARY OF STATE 



An Appreciation 



A DISCOURSE 

BY 

Hiram C. Haydn 
M 



IN 



THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH 
July /6, 1905 






U I will make a man more rare than fine 
gold, even a man than the pure gold of 

Ophir."— Isaiah, xiii. 12. 



"This is one element in the judgment that 
the prophet sees coming upon the world for 
its iniquity — at once cause and effect — that 
men of honor, integrity and faithfulness be- 
come more rare than fine gold. And there 
in no calamity like this — the rarity of men 
in city, State or nation, in places of trust 
and responsibility, with high ideals of in- 
tegrity and patriotism and the will to stand 
by them. Every other sort of calamity af- 
fecting civic interests can be borne if the 
right sort of men are found for counsel 
and for action. They will find a way or 
make one. 

"The history of our time gives terrible 
emphasis to the calamitous effect of an 
awakening to the fact of the rarity of lead- 
ers, at once capable and honest; fitted by 
nature and by training for grave responsibil- 
ities, and also patriotic and trustworthy. 



"We have the spectacle of a great nation 
, floundering like a rudderless ship in stormy 
seas. Her autocracy and bureaucracy 
-wrecked the manhood of her leaders and 
^her wrecked leaders have made of the na- 
tion a spoil. Russia struggles with a forlorn 
hope. How are the mighty fallen! In Rus- 
sia a man is more rare than the pure gold of 
Ophir. 

"Here, where democracy boasts its tri- 
umphs, the revelations of the last year or two 
have startled and shocked public confidence, 
as in swift succession men, pilloried for evil 
doing, have come down from their high 
places to pay the penalty of their crimes, 
till leaders with clean hands and pure hearts 
are more rare than gold. The hideous lust 
for gold has made men more rare than 
gold, and the end is nowhere in sight. 

"At such a time, we are called to mourn 
the loss of a man who combined the rarest 
gifts, the most varied experiences and en- 
joyed the richest opportunities which led 
up to grave responsibilities, to be accepted 
and met in a large and catholic fashion, un- 

3 



til he stood confessed one of the master 
spirits of the world. 

"This is not the estimate of provincial 
pride or partiality. It is evidenced by 
voices speaking the varied tongues of men, 
of all sects and nationalities, as they face 
the fact that Secretary of State John Hay is 
no more of earth. 

"Since this is so, it is grateful to think 
that he once lived in our city, married into 
one of the families from early days promi- 
nent in all that concerned this church and 
community, that children were born to him 
here, that he worshipped with us habitually, 
that his grave is among our graves, and pil- 
grim feet will turn to the spot where his 
dust lies, and recall the deeds that gave 
him fame and honor among men, and turn 
away to lead better lives. 

"It seems not unfitting, therefore, that 
in spite of more august assemblies in all 
lands, where American citizens are found 
and more elaborate eulogies are uttered, we 
should devote this morning to his memory — 
who was not less a Christian than a states- 
man, not less devout than patriotic, whose 

4 



high ideals and law of life were drawn from 
the New Testament. 

"It is not my thought to sketch his life 
or catalogue his public deeds, of such far- 
reaching and international consequence, but 
to concern myself with the man and the 
manhood that made his life beautiful and il- 
lustrious. 

"We have in Secretary John Hay a nature 
and a temperament sensitively strung, 
poetic, imaginative, with a keen sense of 
the beautiful, the true and the good, which 
fitted him, first of all, for poetry, art and 
literature, as a form of expression, and rose 
into the realm of life and conduct in a scorn 
of the mean and vulgar, and a passion for 
righteousness and justice between man and 
man, nation and nation, and then, fitness in 
worship — reverence, sincerity, humility. 

"Upon a nature thus gifted, home and 
school and church, nature, travel and con- 
tact with men, with democracy, and the 
doings of courts in lands ruled by kings; 
and, best of all, Abraham Lincoln, laid 
their fashioning hands to mold the man we 

5 



loved, cherished and admired — whose mem- 
ory is precious. 

"The poetic gift was earliest developed, 
as was not unnatural — the play of a nature 
not yet burdened with the cares of life, or 
a sense of the good and evil bound up 
in it. 

"He wished, in later life, that these 
earlier effusions could be effaced. I can- 
not so wish. None of us could have endured 
to see him issuing these 'ballads' as Ambas- 
sador to the court of Queen Victoria, or as 
Secretary of State; nor, of course, would 
it have been possible to him, but for the 
youth, John Hay, it was possible and fit; 
for, mind you, there is in them the ring 
of a note that vibrated to the end of his 
life virile with praise of the brave, daring 
and true, though clad in the course garb 
and voiced in the vernacular of rough, un- 
lovely men. No person of sense will fail 
to put them in their historic place, nor 
think of them as the measure of the man. 
Then, he could not have written the later 
poems which breathe a lofty faith and are 
touched and colored by the experiences of a 

6 



man who has been long in the school of life, 
or 'Castilian Days,' born of a sojourn in 
sunny Spain, or his eloquent tributes to the 
patriots of this and other lands. 

"He early excelled in literary efforts, and 
out of them it came to pass that he became 
consummate master of English speech. 
Reading, travel, observation, made him a 
full man, and a retentive memory enabled 
him to have his resources in command. 

"Familiar with the vast possibilities of 
the English tongue, both for beauty and 
strength, his orations, addresses and state 
papers were always clear, luminous and 
strong, with ever a hint of poetic color and 
a virile imagination. Hearing him or read- 
ing his speeches, no one would imagine 
him to be the shrinking, reluctant man he 
was, averse to publicity and exceedingly 
difficult to bring to a positive engagement 
to make an address. So easy to us it seemed 
for him to open his mouth and so impossible 
for him to be commonplace — to speak with- 
out enlightening, to plead a great cause 
without carrying everything before him, in 
the ardor of his sincerity and the strength of 

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his convictions, in his scathing denuncia- 
tions of that which aroused his antagonism ; 
all this, as well as his remarkable conversa- 
tional gifts, illustrate what is meant when 
speaking of him as a master of English 
speech. 

"I wish next to turn your attention to 
the providential leadings by which he was 
prepared for the great work of his life, in 
which he won the recognition of crowned 
heads and the masters of the art of diplo- 
macy as a man, their equal, surpassed by 
none. 

"There was, of course, school, college 
and the study of law and then, the rarest 
school of all, the close intimacy, as private 
secretary for five years, with one who has 
been called 'the greatest politician, the great- 
est statesman, the greatest man of his time,' 
Abraham Lincoln. No man worthy to be 
called to such a post could possibly help 
being saturated by the spirit of this great 
and good man, nor ever get away from the 
lofty ideals which controlled him. It is 
my belief that no one thing ever happened 

8 



to Mr. Hay so influential in fitting him for 
the crowning work of his life. 

"From this association he went forth to 
a training in diplomacy as seen in Paris, 
Vienna and Madrid — five years in these 
great centers of political activity as secretary 
of legation. Here again was a school of 
observation — how not to do it. This was 
an invaluable opportunity for studying Eu- 
ropean ways of courts, but also of the cur- 
rent methods and inner spirit of diplomats, 
'who,' as he wittily put it, 'when they seem 
coming are going, when they seem going 
they come.' 

"His work on the editorial staff of the 
Tribune continued this acquaintance with 
foreign affairs for as many more years, and 
thus was he being prepared to deal with 
them when that responsibility became his. 

"It was near the end of this period, in 
1874, that he was united in wedlock with a 
daughter of this church, Miss Clara L. 
Stone. This was more than an affair of 
affection between two souls going forth into 
life, united 'for better, for worse.' It was 
besides, as we now see it, the opening wide 

9 



the door of opportunity to a freedom in 
work and a following of his bent, free 
of all concern for the ways and means of 
livelihood. The attempt to make him a 
business man, happily, failed. The man 
who had been the confidant of Lincoln in 
Washington, and secretary of legations in 
three great capitals of Europe, and had been 
on the staff of one of the foremost journals 
of New York, could not be at home in the 
routine of a business office. And so it came 
about that, after being Assistant Secretary 
of State with Mr. Evarts, years went into 
the writing of the life of Abraham Lincoln. 
In so doing, the period of the civil war and 
all that led up to it; the inside history of 
the perplexities, difficulties, failures and tri- 
umphs of the President, were lived over 
again ; and the man, his motives, his charity, 
his great-heartedness, his sincerity, his 
humor, his tears, his faith in God and right- 
eousness were studied and recorded; and 
if the years abroad and in New York had 
in any wise dimmed his impressions of his 
great master, they were burnished in this 

10 



long and painstaking study of the life of the 
martyred President. 

"A long period thus elapsed, mainly in 
literary pursuits, before the last eight mem- 
orable years begin. 

"Thirty-six years from the time he went 
to Washington with Lincoln he sets out as 
ambassador of this great republic to the 
most potent court of Europe and nearest 
of kin to ourselves. It was a sort of intro- 
duction to that court of all nations with 
which he was soon to deal. He was thus 
brought conspicuously before the world. 
Friendship with Great Britain was ce- 
mented ; his talents as a diplomatwere recog- 
nized, and it came to pass that he was trusted 
by men of all nations and faiths as few 
men ever have been. He was of diplomats 
the great peacemaker. If we ask for the 
secret of this confidence we shall find it in 
his ethical soundness, his candor, sincerity 
and truth, his straightforwardness and fair- 
ness. He lifted diplomacy out of the sphere 
of intrigue and falsehood — using words to 
conceal intentions rather than to convey 
meanings — into that of candor and frank- 

11 



ness. His secretaryship marks a new era 
in diplomacy and the dealings of nation with 
nation. He believed that compacts between 
nations, as with men, were made to be kept; 
that all conduct should be kept clear of sin- 
ister designs; that the belated peoples were 
entitled to consideration and fair dealing 
from the foremost; and when European 
powers were rushing forward to partition 
Asia as they had Africa, he stayed their 
hand. There came about such an alliance 
of moral influence — that might be backed 
by force, if need be — with Great Britain, 
that the English-speaking world to-day 
stands with open face towards the greatest 
continent of earth, and the United States is 
trusted because of the leadership of John 
Hay, Secretary of State. 

"That ethical soundness came of an im- 
plicit faith in the righteousness of the Ser- 
mon on the Mount, as meant for life and 
conduct. With that deadly heresy that 
treats the teachings of Christ as an imprac- 
ticable idealism, good for church but im- 
possible on the street, he had nothing to 
do. No taint of this w T as on him. Nothing 

12 



of this did he learn from the martyr Presi- 
dent, nor from the latest. And it is worth 
while to put emphasis here, in view of the 
widespread defection in morals that is the 
curse of the business world of to-day, and 
especially that part of the business world 
that deals in big figures and great transac- 
tions, and unblushingly affirms that a man 
may be as selfish as he will in business if 
he only uses his gains beneficently. The 
Golden Rule is not in all their thoughts. 
It was ever in John Hay's mind and often 
on his lips. 

"Doing evil that good may come is not 
Christian. We are living in the day of 
warped consciences and debased ethics, and 
the high places of finance and of politics are 
full of selfishness and cruelty, of respectable 
thieves and liars, of professed sanctity and 
open contempt of righteousness. If this 
country was as perverse at the middle and 
at the bottom as it is at the top, I do not see 
what would save us. 

"It is, therefore, the more necessary that 
we clearly see and frankly say that the man 
whom we love and mourn got his vantage 

13 



ground by none of these methods, but by 
cleanness of hands in His eyes, to whom 
righteousness is precious, by righteousness to 
rise. Thus are men and nations exalted. 
Thus Christian faith comes to its own, and 
pure religion and undefiled is vindicated as 
'profitable unto all things.' 

"John Hay was not, so far as I know, a 
member of any church. Once, in conversa- 
tion with me, he stated his reason. It is 
characteristic. He said, 'My faith in Christ 
is implicit. I am a believer. I am in fullest 
sympathy with all that the church mainly 
stands for, but I feel that to unite with it 
formally I should be in full accord with 
its methods, creeds and aims; and I can- 
not go that far.' I do not affirm the verbal, 
but the substantial accuracy of this report. 
This is in keeping with that candor which 
insists that a man should be wholly what 
he seems. But it fails to make room for 
that difference in unity, which tolerates di- 
vergent opinions and minor beliefs while 
holding the essentials in harmony. Any 
other kind of unity is impossible. Once and 
again, when the invitation to the Lord's 

14 



table left with the communicant the respon- 
sibility for the act of communion, as a vir- 
tual confession of Christ, he remained with 
us. I think this was his habit. 

"Coming upon such words as these fol- 
lowing, not knowing the author, what should 
we say of him? 

"'Defend us, Lord, from every ill; 
Strengthen us, Lord, to do thy will. 
In all we plan, and all we do 
Still keep us to thy service true.' 

*fS" *(? y|c *p ^jc •!? /jc yfc *t? 7(? *fr 

"'Thou who art light, shine on each soul; 
Thou who art truth, each mind control; 
Open our eyes and make us see 
The path which leads to heaven and thee.' 

"Do not these stanzas breathe the pure 
Christian desire? 

"It seems to me not unlikely that this 
hymn, written by him for the Christian En- 
deavorers when they met en masse in Wash- 
ington, translated into many tongues, will 
carry his name over the world and down 
the centuries to come when his state papers 
are forgotten. Confession of Christ takes 
many forms and voices itself in deed as well 

15 



as words. Emptiest of all when in word and 
not in life. 

"Just here, in the progress of this dis- 
course, a letter was put into my hands from 
Dr. James H. Taylor, a classmate of mine 
in Union, in which I read, 'When has our 
country produced a finer specimen of hu- 
manity? To see such is an assurance for 
the future of our country and our race!' 
Yes, it is true. Other men are in the arena 
of life to-day. Others will yet arise, like 
minded and true, but it ever has been, ever 
must be, a rare thing to see beauty and 
strength, feminine delicacy and masculine 
virility, the wisdom of the serpent and the 
harmlessness of the dove, poetry and states- 
manship, culture and righteousness, blended 
as they were in John Hay, beloved of men, 
the honored of nations, on whose head the 
blessings awarded the peacemaker rest. 

"Four years ago a shadow fell across his 
path in the sudden death of his eldest son. 
It is my belief that to the last the man in 
the eye of the world was a man of sorrow. 
In the parting of the veil the shadow passed 
away forever." 

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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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